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Today was a great day! My "case worker" has all my stuff finally...My insurance does not include banding until 3/01/08. We were going to submit on 3/3 (Monday). Anyway, the director of my benefit department e-mailed me (she said with the new language she didn't want my file to accidentally get denied) so she gave me the info for the contact person for my insurance and then she e-mailed me too. My case worker then sent on my file today!!!Yea! I hope it all goes smooth and I get approved so I can get the date!! How much school will you miss..if any???

If your band holds 10 ccs and you only have 11/2 you need more fills so you can have the benefits of the band. It's hard to be patient, but once you have more fill in your band, you won't be able to eat nearly as much. Can you get another fill?

I was banded on 10-19-09 by Dr Trace Curry in Evendale Ohio, and he is really good about the fill process(he is banded also) This is hard work, but in the end I know I did it and you are right, this is only the tool, the work is up to us.

Well. ..now I am coming past 10 months. I had slowed to 5-7 lbs per month and now have gained 3 lbs and am in a major stall. I am so frustrated. Nothing lost in a month. thinking about doing a week long fast with only liquids. ..but it so kills my energy levels.

Hi Magii.... I am in same situation as you. I just found out this Friday (10/10/08) that my band had slipped. My Dr didnt tell me to go on liquids, etc. he just told me to try not to gain weight since I got a total unfill. I have been eating the same as I was when I had a fill HOWEVER I am noticeably hungry and really have to watch myself. I have to go back in 3 weeks for another flouroscopy and see if part of my stomach went under the band again. Do you have to go back in one or two weeks? Did your Dr tell you what is next? I'm assuming that if there is no change in my slip I will have to have a revision. Hope you are doing well and wonder if you heard from anyone else who has had a slipped band and if they went on liquids or continued on solids. Angie Banded 3/29/06 down 75 lbs

Hi my name is Ashley Osgood, living in Colorado Springs CO. I started my journey for weight loss in December 2014. I had my gall bladder out in December by Dr Wilcox. He happened to be the head surgeon for weight loss surgery at Ft. Carson. That was the beginning for a whole new outlook on life then. I took a few months to think about the surgery and its complications. My mother in law lives with my husband and I. She was less than thrilled to hear of my decision for weight loss surgery. She is absolutely against it and is very vocal about it. Praying for our own place away from her very soon. Anyways I have completed my extensive checklist for tricare approval for surgery. I was finally cleared for surgery on 05/14/15, I was so excited I almost bawled!!! I made the soonest appointment with my surgeon June 10, yeah that seems like such a long wait for something you are looking forward to. Hopefully I can be seen earlier if possible. The wait times for actual surgery after you see your surgeon is about 3 weeks. looks like i might be a July sleever.

Well don't let me fool ya I wish the weight was gone yesterday, but I don't feel losing a pound or two a week is fast. And in 10 weeks of only losing 5 pounds is kinda devastating when u lost 39 pounds in 4 months. I guess losing is better than gaining I'm just truly and more than ready to be liter and healthier than I was and this damn cold weather doesn't help in the exercise area either.

I am 7 weeks out and I haven't had any stalls. My surgeon started me on solids on day 10, so I did not have the initial big weight drop I see with people whos are on liquid diet 2 weeks pre-op (I had no pre-op diet), and 2-3-4 weeks after the surgery. So my weight loss was not drastic and it is still on the slower side but I am happy as I am losing constantly. I think lots of people stall when they transition from liquid to pureed and then from pureed to solids. Not much you can do, follow your plan, and it will come off.

Oh wow your four weeks out? Are you on the mushy food phase? I have been on the liquid diet for two weeks before surgery and I have been so emotionally hungry! Thanks for the kind words Yes, I'm on limited soft foods: cottage cheese, refried Beans, mushed veggies, oatmeal/cream of wheat, greek yogurt. I get to go to the next phase in 10 days. I was on a 2 week pre-packaged food diet pre-op. Don't worry, your hunger will disappear after surgery; at least, MINE did. Now I eat because I HAVE to...or because I WANT to.

I would go by your surgeon's guidelines also. My surgeon allowed really mushy cooked veggies during the mushy phase and then other veggies at 6 weeks out. Iceberg lettuce could be tried at 4 weeks but I waited till 6. Other lettuces at 6. I really never had trouble tolerating anything other than broccoli and cauliflower that weren't cooked well around 6 to 10 weeks. I can eat them raw now at nearly 6 months out. I like eating veggies bc they fill me up, they are low cal, good fiber, and I can eat about a cup of them bc of the water content. I usually eat them as a snack bc I can't eat much of them after eating protein.

I will start my purée diet on the 19, I will be 21 days post-op by then , I'm sick of the shakes, so ready for some taste of real food.

1. I had not restriction on Straws. Used them without any problems right from day one in hospital 2. I got an adult dose of vitamins from the supermarket, Dieticians recommendation. Changed to ones without iron because of nausea. I take calcium tablets. Every 3 months I have a vitamin B12 injection which really helps with my energy levels. 3.I was tested for swelling of my incisions but nor leaks 4. Sodium is never an issue in the UK. I could have broth 5. I could not have a shower until my staple were taken out at about 10 days. They didnt want the dressings getting wet. [ strangely I was given new dressings for after showers, so I ignored the first set of instructions and showered] Pack a blanket if its cold outside, I was freezing. Take a pillow to hug in the car ride home. You can put it under the seat belt. Bumpy roads are the norm over here and a pillow did help. Lip balm and biotin was very useful

Same here. Had surgery 6/4, lost 13 lbs first 2 weeks, hit a stall week 3, now just coming out of it (I hope!). Total of 19 lbs lost including preop diet. You are not alone!

Hi all! I finally had my consultation yesterday (after two long months of waiting) and it went GREAT! I met with my suregon, Dr. Poplawski, and he said I made a great choice by choosing the sleeve, and in his opinion, that would replace the lap-band. After going over all the basics, his advice to me was to come into surgery with my weight down, but no specific goal. He said even 10 pounds would be great. He also told me to not rely on luck to not get pregnant during the losing stage...haha! The biggest surprise? The only insurance requirement to get approved is a psych eval. CRAZY. He said that if I get that done ASAP, I can have my surgery within a month. Since the hospital I am going to works hand in hand with BCBS of MI, they get pretty quick response times from insurance and I should know within 10 days of submitting the paperwork. Let the adventure begin!

Since I got decent re-fill (I had been unfilled for a while) I am unable to eat much of anything before 10:30 a.m. I CAN drink some really good 1/2 a cup of fat-free milk, 1/2 a cup of coffee w/ a scoop or so of no-sugar-added vanilla powder. It's so much fun, that eating Breakfast isn't even an issue. Sue *now dealing with the fact that I can eat late in the day*

I'm sure that in general it's true that the more one has to lose the faster it comes off. You don't hear of people who only have 70 or so pounds to take off losing 30 in the first month, but people who have 150 or more may indeed lose that quickly in short bursts. But that's just nature at work, and perfectly understandable. As for how much weight "we" lose each month, that's a function of too many variables to say. The desired rate of loss is 4-10 lbs a month.

There's plenty of people around in Australia who have been banded for 10 years. However it was made very clear to me by my surgeon that there is no longer term data, they simply do not know whether the band will last us our lifetimes. Silicon supposedly does not degrade and is non reactive in the body but who knows.

Congratulations on the beginning of your new journey! I was banded on 10/29/2008 and was absolutely thrilled on surgery day!

Im having this same issue my plastic surgeon said that i would be needing a lift and augmentation I was a 40 DD before vsg now im a 38 C I have nothing besides skin and nipple I have surgery on March 19 i will keep you posted on how it goes.

The saying that we go by at our support group is, "Face it. Deal with it, and move along." Meaning don't beat yourself up for slipping up once and awhile. We aren't perfect and it's going to happen once and awhile. This is a life style change not a life change. You obviously know what you did so if it happens again, try waiting 10 minutes before you eat what you did. We all deal with stress in different ways. I'm sorry about your father-in-law also.

I am three months out and I ahave not excercised... not once!!! And I have finally hit a stall. Since surgery, I have lost 54 pounds but have been stuck for two weeks. I know I need to become active but I am so tired when I get home. Here is what my schedule looks like. Monday - Saturday 5am- I have one hour... wake up, get ready for work, try to get some Breakfast in and make breakfast for kids and make sure they are set to go for school before I leave. 6am- hit the road and fight downtown LA traffic 7am- begin my day. I am a phlebotomist so I have to run from patients to the lab all day. Guess what??? Im not allowed to have food or drinks in the patients rooms or lab. This makes it very hard to get my Water in. So I try to get as much in during my lunch 4pm- Clock out. And Im hitting the road by 430 to pick up my daughter and take her to cheer practice by 5. 5pm- Drop off daughter and head out to pick up my son 6pm- Pick up my son from practice and head home... more traffic 645-7pm- home and time to make dinner. And now I see my hubby. 8pm- clean up and help kids with homework while my husband does laundry and takes care of bills and such. 9pm- Im so tired now, I shower and watch some TV because this is my only down time and maybe I can get a few hours of sleep. If anything is thrown in, I am running behind by a good hour or so and sometimes dont go to bed till about 10:30 or 11. but that only gives me 6 hours of sleep and who wants a sleepy needle coming towards them??? scary Sundays we try to make it family day because we are so busy. But also sunday is our grocery shopping day and my only day off WELCOME TO MY WEEK I now know why we ate so much fast food. I know I need to excercise but really I am so tired

Maybe while your kiddos are at practice and your waiting for them you could squeeze in 10 or 15 minute walks

Things are really gearing up for my surgery on 10/21. I have my pre admission testing on Thursday and Monday is my EGD. My problem is two part..The main thing is my sitter. I have a daughter who is almost 5. During the day she goes to a sitter while I am at work. She has been with this lady since she was 6 weeks old and, honestly, my sitter is like family. That is why my daughter is supposed to stay with her while I am in the hospital having surgery, and a day or two after. Well here is my problem...My sitter has a sister who is in end stage of her battle with cancer. She is in Hospice care now and it is just a matter of time. My sitter needs to be with her family when the end comes, so she may have to go at a moments notice. Normally that would not be a huge issue, but with these major appointments coming up it really is. I do not have a large extended family. I do not have a back up sitter available and will have to scramble big time should the sister pass during the daytime. My only option is MY 94 year old grandma who has dementia, and let's face it- that is no option! I have already missed nearly two months work earlier this year due to health issues, and have been lucky they are ok'ing another week for surgery. I cannot take additional time because of no sitter! Plus, the way my PATs are scheduled Thursday it will take most of the day. ( Have to check in one hospital at 8:45 for gallbladder ultrasound, upper GI series, EKG, and blood work. Then have to go to a DIFFERENT hospital by 12:45 to attend a mandatory class until 3pm) Now the second part of my issue is my EGD next Monday. You are NOT allowed to drive yourself home as they administer propofol during the test. I have someone to give me a ride to the hospital, but my sitter's daughter was going to be my ride home. (this wasn't even a certainty) Well now, if her aunt passes away, I cannot be certain she will be available to give me the ride. I am so close to the finish line and rescheduling is NOT an option. I am just a bit panicked about what is going to happen. I do feel great empathy for my sitter and the loss she is about to experience. I wish more than anything her sister wasn't ill and she didn't have to go through all of this. ( Her mother died earlier this year. That too caused a lot of disruption and scrambling to find someone to watch my child.) My sitter was actually one of the first people to discuss the possibility of me having bariatric surgery years ago, so she is supportive. It is just the fact my support network is extremely limited and when one person is unavailable, it creates a huge domino effect. Right now my mind is reeling trying to think of alternate possibilities, and not having much success. I could sure use some positive energy and thoughts right now. I am not doubting my path at all, just worried about how it will all come together.

I was always taught it was a bit of both.... Red skin in the sun like the pomegranate, but also Prisoner Of Mother England, because of our convict roots. Mind you, it was the convict descendants who called the newly arrived "10 pound Poms"** the dreaded POMMIES! It was certainly intended as an insult well into the 70s in Oz... as I know too well from personal experience. **(immigration program of the 1960s favouring UK immigrants) My mother used to insist that we children defiantly said back "Rubbishing Colonials!", but you know that never really made the grade in the schoolyard. Falling about laughing was not the effect I was after. The Queensland (state) strine (think Crocodile Dundee accent... forget the hat and knife if you would) followed quickly as a self defence mechanism. Ahhhh... the memories.